Bee venom refers to the toxic substance that is produced by workers bees and has been used in the therapy of diseases.
For the application of bee venom to the body, previously, worker bees which had been caught were forced to sting an affected site or only the stingers, after being detached from worker bees, were inserted into an affected site. However, it is difficult to control the injection amount or concentration of bee venom in this manner, which makes the objectification and generalization of the bee venom therapy impossible and may generate side effects such as shock.
If given the ability to adjust the amount and concentration of drug depending on the body condition and constitution of the patient, bee venom therapy can be safely used without inducing any side effects. Bee venom therapy has spread to some degree over the U.S. and the Europe. In the early 1990s, the subcutaneous injection of purified bee venom for the treatment of inflammation and pain was approved by the FDA, and it is produced under the brand name of Apitoxin. Recently, bee venom collectors have been located over a vast area in bee farms and thus, a large amount of bee venom is collected.
However, the bee venom collected via the collectors of bee farms contains significant amounts of contaminants such as dust, soil, etc., and impurities such as honey, pollen and propolis. These foreign materials change the composition of bee venom, degrading the physiological activity of bee venom.